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This kind of storytelling is why I fight to keep this place going. I would love to read the poem. thank you

Right. The whole shebang, nearly 4000 vf from Goodell toe to Fury top.

Trip: North Cascades - Mineral Mtn High Route- a trip into a Caldera Trip Date: 07/14/2024 Trip Report: K and I decided to try the Mineral Mtn High Route for our annual trip together, documented beautifully by Roland Tabor, and then by a few cascade climbers thereafter. Correct me if I'm wrong but we might be the first all female team to do this long schwack. We decided to complete the route counter clockwise, starting with a bivy on Ruth and ending with a bivy on Easy peak. At an alpine start of 12:30 pm, we started our hike to Ruth and casually crawled to the bivy sites, happy that a breeze alleviated us from the summer heat. We shared the bivy with a kind stranger and discussed the route ahead while watching the alpine glow light up the snow around us. By 7 am the next day, we were leisurely making our way down, curious to see what sort of bushwhacking was previously dubbed "blue collar" by Climber Kyle. It's a good name, don't get me wrong. I generally like hanging out with blue collar folks, so maybe this schwack would be a fun experience. In retrospect, we should have walked a lot faster and started a lot earlier. Finding our way to Chilliwack Pass was easy enough, but venturing up the flanks of Mineral was a stout challenge. Thrashing and pulling ourselves up steep, thickly forested slopes we would emerge into brief open patches covered in sticky sap to recollect ourselves. The leaves in the NW create the sap to prevent too much water loss, and it was on every leaf we touched. "What the hell...." either one of us would shout to each other, really just to keep tabs on where the other person was while completely emersed in huckleberry bushes and thick fir. The first gully was not difficult to cross, but the second had us stumped. Luckily, we had beta that the crossing was around 4700'. We climbed down past a dry waterfall and found passage at 4700', thankful for this information. The rest of the route was manageable but long. At some points, we had to choose between a consequential schwack or a quick class 4 scramble. Some moments were just pulling on anything you could see to aid up the climb. To gain the ridge by Mineral, we climbed a steep fin instead of a gully. Navigation eased once on the ridges of Mineral where the lush subalpine danced in a light breeze. We were happy to see plenty of water all along the route. The shoulder is a series of subalpine benches, a simple task to master after the morning's schwack. By 530 pm, we were 300' from the stunning summit of Mineral and decided to camp at the summit instead of pursue Easy Peak that night. So we spent the rest of the evening with our toes basking in the sunset light, watching Shuksan yawn... At 3 am, I sat and watched the sun rise. By 5 am, we were heading down from the summit towards the next saddle. The flanks were still snow covered although massive glide cracks and holes were forming. The snow was steep and suncupped, but we found passage on skier's right and hurried our way towards Easy. Easy peak and ridge earns its name, having long stretches of subalpine scenery and moderate slopes to climb. We walked down Easy on the unmaintained trail and waded across the Chilliwack with our boots on. The hike out felt long, hot, and slow but that felt appropriate given that this was a tour of a long extinct caldera. A wonderful trip! The Mineral route as seen from Ruth and Ruth snow coverage This was when I could take my phone out to take a quick picture of K in some shrubs Mineral Mountain micro terrain and gully systems First view of Mineral from the ridge and K ascending Minerals shoulder. A taste of morning light on Mineral. Looking towards Whatcom Peak and Challenger through incoming haze , Easy ridge in the forefront. Easy-Mineral Pass Easy ridge towards the Lookout. Thanks for reading and have a wonderful day! Gear Notes: Ice axe, chocolate Approach Notes: Plenty of bivy sites with sweeping views. Expect to find fir needles in pockets days later.

As of our trip on Tuesday, air quality in the Triumph zone was still good!

Hard hats off for nailing the upper Mongo, and your new route on The Pole of Remoteness. It’s always a head-shaker to revisit that Wayne pioneered this solo. The Full Mongo awaits.

Trip: Pickets - Picket High Route (Stettatle -> Wiley) Trip Date: 07/04/2024 Trip Report: Wyatt, Anthony, and I joined forces once again for a 4th of July Epic. We went for the Pickets this year, completing a south to north high route from Stetattle Ridge, through McMillan Cirque, to Luna Col, and out Wiley Ridge over 4 days. We summited Outrigger, Fury, Luna, Big Beaver, and a few other bumps along the way. For those curious, Outrigger is climbable from the south. We couldn't find any real info on this, but we found a bypass of the vertical section, climbing some low 5th around to the right. Wiley Ridge was incredibly pleasant and the bushwhack was short. Highly recommend this route. https://climberkyle.com/2024/07/04/pickets-high-route/ Gear Notes: Gaitered gore-tex trail runners, cycling out waterproof socks. Pink tri-cam for the knife edge on Outrigger. Approach Notes: We took the Pierce Mountain Trail up Sourdough since the main trail is closed due to the fire last year. Wiley to exit. Stay on the ridge between the two gullies on the descent, and it's not too bad with the exception of one cliff band at 4900 ft.

If you can walk up there without waking up the choss, you also might as well also tag the bonus unclimbed gendarme, climber's left of the Rooster Comb

Oh, the toe looks just fine, just walk down there and go up.

We contemplated checking out the toe, but it looked very steep as far as we could see from the east and we were running out of daylight. It would remove some of the toughest route finding and technical climbing on the route, but who knows what it would add. Maybe some canyoneering around that waterfall at the base. Damn am I curious what it looks like from below. The whole ridge is ripe for untouched pinnacles and variations on Wayne’s original line. We were focused on following his steps as closely as we could, so the venture to the toe seemed like an over-reach for us. However, I see the beauty in connecting his line to the toe. It may just add a thousand feet of vertical bushwhacking and an even more gnarly approach. But hey, some people are still into that kind of adventure!! Thanks for the kudos, John. I’ll say it again, what an incredible ridge!!

Thanks @JonParker! I missed this.... Yes, agree on all of the above. I think it is a fun and straightforward class 3 ramble @Hartselle Mountain Hikers, but then again, I'm biased. And, you may have guessed, I like to keep the beta to an absolute minimum to keep the spirit of North Cascades adventure alive. It is a lot of fun to have the route unfold before you, hunting and guessing like those who came before. Or, at least I find that part fun. Good luck and please post a TR with your thoughts on the route. It is fun to see how folks experience this corner of the Cascades.

Thanks for posting here! What you say in the video is exactly what I’ve been trying to tell people: this site lets you tell the whole story.

Great video!. Was great getting to see a lot of that terrain again other than photo. Genuinely curious, what's with the no helmet?

Finished the video for this as well:

Outstanding!!!

Amazing climb and epic trip report!! Thanks for putting the effort into this! Bravo guys!

Grinning ear to ear grinning while reading this. I must have seen you coming from East Fury while I was descending from Outrigger. I had no idea what an adventure you’d just had. Right?!

Wow! Amazing work, gents. Congrats! Thanks for all the work on an outstanding TR!

Bad to the fucking bone!

Awesome effort on the climb AND this awesome writeup. Respect!

Lion Tamer is the Acid Baby of the Idaho Selkirks. Do it! Bring a strong partner and all of your lichenous choss wrangling skills. Full report/photos here: Lion’s Head – Lion Tamer (III 5.10c) – SPOKALPINE

I had an incredible backpacking trip in the Selkirks earlier this month. Among other things, we climbed Twin Flakes on Harrison Peak. The South Face Standard and Keystone routes get all the attention on this peak, but the locals agree that Twin Flakes is the best route up there. Check it out! Full trip report with photos: https://spokalpine.com/2023/07/25/harrison-peak-twin-flakes-ii-5-8/ TR text: I had my first “vacation alpinism” trip of the season recently when Larissa and I backpacked up to Harrison Lake to climb some of that delicious Selkirks granite. Our first day was spent swimming, eating bread rolls, and questing up a few routes just above the lake. On July 2nd, we trekked over to Harrison Peak for Larissa’s first mountain climb: Twin Flakes! After a quick approach, I racked up and quested off onto the first pitch of Twin Flakes. Among hardcore Selkirks aficionados, this route has a reputation as the best route on Harrison Peak and I was excited to try it out! The typical Selkirks first pitch experience was in full effect: somewhat run out, ambiguous climbing is often required here to gain significant features. I found a comfortable belay and brought Larissa up. The second pitch is among the better alpine rock pitches that I’ve climbed in Idaho. Full commitment laybacking and stemming brought me up a perfect corner to a stance, before another interlude of attention-grabbing climbing. Excellent protection allowed me to enjoy the climbing and sunshine, despite some lichen-covered rock. This ain’t the Cascades… this route might only get climbed a time or two per year. The final pitch had some sweet face climbing before I found myself below the “rock cornice” mentioned in the Laird guidebook. Feeling the exposure, I traversed slightly right, placed two good cams under the overhang (safety first), and made a committing throw out right that allowed me to snag a secret hold and mantle onto a ledge. A few more meters of climbing brought me to the summit ridge. The walk off descent went quickly and brought us back to camp at the lake in time for a big dinner on the lake shore. The next day, we returned to Harrison Peak to repeat the South Face standard route [ Harrison Peak – South Face (II 5.7+) ]. The final pitch of the South Face is just as good as I remembered! Gear Notes: We brought doubles of .3-3, a single .2, and a set of nuts along with a single rope. Strategy Notes Harrison Peak is easily climbed car-to-car, but camping in this area is worth seeking out. The Beehive Five Traverse [ Beehive Five Traverse (III 5.4) ] is right in the neighborhood as well! We climbed one route per day on Harrison, but experienced teams could easily climb two or three in a day on this wall, stashing gear at the base of the Standard Route.

Trip: West Fury - Mongo Ridge Trip Date: 07/05/2021 Trip Report: In our relentless pursuit to ride the coattails of THE Wayne Wallace, Priti and I made the second ascent* of Mongo Ridge (the SW Ridge of West Fury in the Northern Pickets of the North Cascades). It is a Stegasaurus ridge which rises 4,000ft over a mile from Goodell Creek punctuated by thick clusters of gendarmes that look like they’re straight out of the Karakoram. [*2024 Update: Since our ascent, two more parties have ascended the SW Ridge of West Fury (total of four ascents as of July 2024, detailed below)] August 26-27, 2006: Mongo Ridge First Ascent Wayne Wallace (solo) making one bivouac past the Rooster Comb and Pole of Remoteness (with all of the route's technical climbing completed). Legend! https://waynewallace.wordpress.com/2014/05/ July 5, 2021: Jeff and Priti Wright make the Second Ascent of SW Ridge of West Fury, following Wayne's line of ascent but bypassing both the Rooster Comb and the Pole of Remoteness. They did not bring bivouac gear on route (bad call), and they did not make any bivouacs on route. Camp-to-camp in 23hrs from the summit of East Fury (base camp). July 11-13, 2022: Sam Boyce and Lani Chapko make the Third Ascent of the SW Ridge of West Fury, following Wayne's line of ascent, taking Jeff and Priti's Rooster Comb bypass, making the second ascent of the Pole of Remoteness (following Wayne's approximate 5.7 line), and making two biouacs on route (base camp at Luna Col). https://www.theclimbingguides.com/post/mongo-ridge-and-the-pole-of-remoteness-7-09-2022-7-14-2022 Early July, 2024: Emilio Taiveaho and Adam Moline make the Fourth Ascent of the SW Ridge of West Fury, following Wayne's line of ascent including the Rooster Comb (second ascent) and the Pole of Remoteness (third ascent, and by a new line of two pitches of 5.9R) making them the Second Complete Ascent of Wayne Wallace's Mongo Ridge! https://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/topic/107832-tr-mt-fury-wayne-wallace’s-mongo-ridge-second-ascent-of-the-rooster-comb-and-new-line-on-the-pole-of-remoteness-07072024/?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAaZGeT7NzsHS7Pk4D4-BEz-9Fi4D7NGD8mzAiVTHkasQ-41sIDl0dhUtNzM_aem_PLTVnZmmLRYxsTBP00Ynuw#replyForm We first heard about Mongo when Wayne came to speak for a BOEALPS - Boeing Employees Alpine Society Banquet in 2015 and regaled a captive audience with his bold adventures. We warmed up Wayne's feature presentation with a talk on our trip to Patagonia climbing Aguja de l'S. Then Wayne came on stage talking about Mongo, making de l'S look like a mole-hill. Wayne climbed this route in 2006 SOLO, like a boss, questing into unknown terrain that easily could have landed him into mandatory hard free climbing. With vertiginous cliffs on both sides, he knew that bailing from the route was not an option and that he had to climb whatever the mountain presented. The difficulties on the route were up to 5.9, with an additional 5.10b pitch (a routefinding error), but the towers presented possibilities up to 5.11 if we weren’t lucky enough to have Wayne’s beta. The first ascent is one of the legendary, mythical ascents of the Cascades and even of the climbing world. After 15 years, only a handful of folks to my knowledge have even considered attempting it again. The bottom half of the ridge has four narrow towers which require you to summit and rappel in order to make vertical progress on the ridge. Long, double-rope rappels and hard technical climbing discouragingly makes it take hours just to ascent 100ft at times. Above these four towers are the “Rooster Comb” and the “Pole of Remoteness” (named by John Roper who figured it was the hardest place to get to in the lower 48). After Tower 4 and before the Rooster Comb, we scramble traversed low around each of these features and did not summit the Pole of Remoteness since it was getting dark and we did not bring bivy gear. At Wayne’s suggestion, we planned to climb camp-to-camp which was situated at the summit of East Fury. This means that while we did ascend the topographic feature of Mongo Ridge to the summit of West Fury, we did not truly climb “Wayne Wallace’s Mongo Ridge” in the manner that he climbed, including many more pitches of technical terrain. When we talked to Wayne in 2019, I told him that “Somebody needs to repeat this route, just so the world can understand what you accomplished.” It’s impossible to understand the scale of this route without being on it, competing as “one of the largest features on any mountain anywhere.” “You have to climb a major mountain [East Fury] just to start a most major climb.” Even with Wayne’s pictures and descriptions, we were still filled with dread as we attempted to route-find up each tower. While I am proud of what we did accomplish, I am still shaken at the boldness and audacity of the first ascent. Our tale should be considered a celebration of that event. Wayne called it Alpine Grade VI, but Beckey downgraded it to V deeming it (incorrectly imho) similar in commitment to Slesse NE Buttress (ref. Cascade Alpine Guide Book 3, pg. 118). We concur with Wayne's Grade VI rating, although I won't be even slightly offended if anyone wants to challenge the grade while ensconced in sofa cushions. Our itinerary: -7/3/21: 2PM boat ride from Ross Lake Resort to Big Beaver TH. Bivy in Access Creek basin. -7/4/21: Access Creek Basin to East Fury Summit. Left summit bivy in situ. -7/5/21: 23hr day camp-to-camp including Mongo Ridge and the traverse from West Fury to East Fury. -7/6/21: East Fury to Access Creek Basin -7/7/21: Access Creek Basin to Big Beaver TH. 2:30PM boat back to RLR. Here are collected links regarding Wayne's FA, for reference: https://waynewallace.wordpress.com/2014/05/ http://www.alpinist.com/doc/ALP19/climbing-note-fury https://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/21/sports/othersports/21outdoors.html http://www.alpenglow.org/nwmj/07/071_Mongo.html http://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12200713002?fbclid=IwAR0iS9vNBvJ1XUQPOTPIXy8eymiTsuWFHI5TJtuAvLJUNb5LknfgeYgTriI Scurlock Picture: https://www.pbase.com/nolock/image/65948954 I won't go through too much detail on our approach to Luna Col and East Fury, since it is detailed well in many other places: https://onehikeaweek.com/2020/08/02/mount-fury/ http://www.nwhikers.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=8021967 (specifically useful here is the traverse from East Fury to West Fury) Since we planned to do the route camp-to-camp (situated on the summit of East Fury), we studied the traverse from West Fury to East Fury in detail since we figured we'd be onsighting it in the dark to get back to camp. I will point out the "Red Ledge" (pictured above) just past Luna Col is reached by staying directly on the ridgeline from the col to begin the traverse over to East Fury. Past the Red Ledge, the next tower (called "Crux Tower" in some reports) is ascended directly via 4th class ledges and short 5.4 steps. A rope and gear would not be useful here. There is significant foreshortening here, as the route looks much more accessible as you get closer. Unless you're climbing in Winter or Spring, you will not be able to get across the bergshrund (as shown in the Beckey overlay), but instead will traverse left then right to reach the summit arête. Furthermore, the approach to the base of Mongo Ridge from East Fury's summit as discovered by Wayne is the easiest approach. While it is possible to reach Mongo's base via Picket Pass (either by navigating over Outrigger Peak "Southeast Peak" or Otto-Himmel Col), these approaches would be significantly more effort...or bushwhack for days up Goodell Creek. As you approach, notice the grey washboard streak with an overhanging gully. The route will start to the right of this feature. The 4,000ft descent from East Fury's summit may involve a lot of slab if the snow levels are low. We regret not bringing bivy gear on route. An alternative itinerary could be: -Day 1: Big Beaver TH to Luna Col -Day 2: Luna Col to Mongo Ridge Tower 1. Option to leave stove and tent on East Fury Summit as you pass by. There are no good bivouac sites on route. Just bring a sit pad and a sleeping bag and open bivy if splitter forecast. -Day 3: Tower 1 to either East Fury or Luna Col. A note on weather: The Pickets have notoriously unpredictable weather. Even with a splitter forecast, you can still have rain or even storms. Consider a tarp as backup shelter. Crossing the moat is the first crux. The moat is huge! Only found one place where it touched the rock slightly. On the approach, don't come down anything you can't go back up! Here I had to cross a giant moat (unprotectable compact snow), using both Gully tools (then passed the tools down to Priti). A picket here would have been very useful...but that's a big cost. Might have to bury a tool and rap/swing across the moat. Tower 1 was a TIME KILLER! Wayne reported a 5.8 overhang crux which we did not find. Instead we got suckered into a runout 5.10b overhang in the grey washboard gully. Recommend future parties to avoid this gully completely, and instead stay on the face to its right. Our second mistake was getting suckered into a difficult 5.8 grassy gully. Wayne later clarified that he immediately captured the ridge first, then went straight up the ridge (recommended). We started in an obvious chimney (5.6), gaining the face on the left then going right (many variations). After the chimney, we went left to the 5.10b overhanging grey gully instead of going up. It looked harder to gain the face above, but it is 5.8 if you can find Wayne's Way. The slopes to gain the ridge are all STEEP. We breathed a sigh of relief once we were on situated on the upper slopes of Tower 1, but route finding continued to be a challenge. A 30m rappel took us down to the notch between Tower 1 and 2. It seems possible to bail here back down the glacier and back up to East Fury. Perhaps the last legitimate bail option, so we considered the time and knew we would be climbing through the night. Tower 2 is only 2 pitches of 5.7 with no real route finding difficulty and went pretty quickly. The rock is REALLY loose however, so I was careful not to knock anything down on my belayer. Route lines are all approximate by the way! The first double rope rappel from Tower 2 led to the notch between Tower 2 and Tower 3. Tower 3 is the technical crux of the route and another TIME KILLER! It takes hours just to gain 100ft elevation. Once atop, it's demoralizing to look down and see the top of Tower 2 so close. Wayne reported a 5.10a bulge which I think we avoided by staying on and just right of the ridgeline. From the notch between Towers 2 and 3, a 5.4 traverse gains a grassy belay with 5 more pitches above ( 5.9 30m, 5.9 30m, 5.9 30m, 5.9 50m, 5.6 65m). Priti stopped whenever she found a good belay spot. We also hauled packs on 4 pitches expecting 5.10a climbing at any moment. It was real 5.9 climbing, consistently on decent rock for four pitches. Next time, instead of hauling just load everything into the follower pack and leave the leader with a mostly empty backpack instead. We took two backpacks on this climb to evenly distribute weight and bulk while simul-climbing. This was a good method. We consistently trended right above the belay. Higher Hiiiiiigher Hiiiiiiiiiigher Another 60m rappel deposited us to the notch between Towers 3 and 4. Finally, we got through the technical crux and we were losing sun fast! We knew we were in for an open bivy or a heartbreaking omission of the Pole of Remoteness. Tower 4 is another quick one. Two pitches, 5.9 then 5.7. It looks like really hard climbing going straight up! Instead we followed Wayne's advice and traversed out right for ~20m on 5.9 terrain with decent protection, then up following flakes and grass to a good belay. As you start climbing up, the climbing doesn't ease up, but instead is engaging, fun 5.9. Then 65m simul-climb to the summit. A final 50m rappel down to the base of the Rooster Comb. We were a bit confused here since the terrain opened up into a minefield of gendarmes. The Pole of Remoteness was indistinguishable among all of the towers. We knew we had to boogie so we took all the shortcuts that we could find. We noticed that the Rooster Comb could be bypassed on the right on low-5th terrain by taking another 30m rappel, then down climbing and traversing its Eastern flanks to a grassy gully. Wayne went up and over the Rooster Comb, not realizing there was a bypass. The Rooster Comb is very complex with several small flagpoles that required rappels. Wayne describes the final rappel off the rooster comb as a "diagonal rappel" that you can redirect off of horns, after which he flicked the rope to retrieve. There are at least two more intermediate gendarmes between the Rooster Comb and the Pole of Remoteness that we skirted around. Wayne found himself on their left side while we were on their right side. Wayne captured the upper 4th class slopes via a grassy gully (shown above). From here it's all 4th class to the "False Fury" summit. I coin the label "False Fury" because we stared at this point almost along the entire route thinking it was the West Fury Summit, but instead is fairly far from the true West Fury summit. Above is pictured our Rooster Comb bypass route which required an additional 30m rappel (or easy down climb). This was the first time we encountered snow on route, but don't count on it being there! Bring 4L water each. Southern Pickets in all their glory. Wayne traversed around the right side of the Pole of Remoteness to reach the col and summit it from the backside. To climb it directly would probably be 5 pitches of hard, loose climbing. From the notch between "False Fury" and the Pole of Remoteness, Wayne reported 1 pitch of 5.7 to reach the summit of the PoR. There is no anchor on top, so he threw a rope around a loose block and solo downclimbed, using the rope as a backup. If you are a team, consider downclimb-belaying. We sadly felt the need to skip the pole since it was total darkness by the time we got to the notch with a lot of traversing left to go. Once atop "False Fury", we couldn't find the summit register and realized that the real West Fury was maybe .25miles away separated by 4 more gendarmes, first downclimbing (or rappelling) down and right and traversing around the first gendarme, then weaving up, over, and around the others to finally reach the real West Fury summit. Glad to have put in the time to memorize the traverse beta between West and East Fury, it went off slowly but smoothly. One piece of key beta was at the end of Tower 1 (the last tower between the Fury's), you can find a secret 4th class ramp around to the North (climber's left) to find the rappel station that leads to the final push up the slopes back to East Fury. This is a 30m rope stretcher rappel, by the way! Thanks to Wayne for all of your support and encouragement! I think this route is more of a classic in the way that Hummingbird Ridge is a classic. We should really just sit back and marvel at the first ascent. It's a true Picketeering adventure, but loose rock, lack of bail options, and lack of bivy sites is pretty discouraging. The Pole of Remoteness still needs a second ascent, however! But it would a pretty doable day to get to PoR in-a-day from your East Fury bivouac by traversing high along the ridge and scrambling down from "False Fury", then reversing the route. Gear Notes: Single Rack .1 to 2, doubles .3-.75, small cams (TCU 00, TCU0). We like small cams in the Pickets! Small rack of nuts. 1 screw and 1 V-threader for glacier (didn't use). 60m single rope, 60m pull cord (three long rappels + optional pack hauling), 1 Petzl Gully (technical light ice axe) each, 10 single alpine draws, 3 double alpine draws, 1 quad, 50ft 5mm cord for rap anchors (used it all), left three caribeeners on rappel stations, steel horizontal front-point crampons. Approach Notes: Boat from Ross Lake Resort to Big Beaver Creek - Access Creek - Luna Col - East Fury - 4000ft descent on South side - Mongo Ridge - West Fury - Easy Fury

Trip: The Pickets - Himmelgeisterhorn - Wild Hair Crack Trip Date: 08/25/2017 Trip Report: Well, it would seem that I completely missed larch season this year as we were gone yanking on tufas in Greece and now ski season seems to be well on its way. It was another fine year of climbing, the hustle was put on in the spring to tie up some loose ends on larger Cascadian objectives which was immediately followed by a great deal of Mountain Loop cragging in Darrington and a lot of heavy packing and choss chucking to bolt a new route up by Mile High Club. Amongst all of that I did accomplish a long standing goal in the Pickets with my good buddy Imran, a tick of the Wild Hair Crack on Himmelgeisterhorn. Wild Hair Crack is a route that was established by Silas Wild, John Roper, and Russ Kroeker in 1981. For all the information you really need to know about the route and the hilarious story of it's conception go to John Roper's site Rhino Climbs. There's a lot of other great info there too if you look around a bit. Years ago, on a short and brutal traverse of the Pickets from the Chopping Block to Luna with the Running Dog we briefly stood in the notch of Otto-Himmel Col and gazed up slack jawed at the crack, knowing that we knew what it was but not being able to summon the name. Regardless, we figured we should probably come back and climb it and headed off down the Mustard Glacier to Frenzelspitz Camp where we immediately got smacked by a standard Picket thunderstorm on an otherwise bluebird day. A few years of shameless peakbagging had gone by since then as well as other trips into the Pickets but I had not yet focused up to get back to that beautiful piece of rock. Imran and I set a date early this year, weather window permitting and waited for the weekend to arrive. We've done so many trips together at this point that communication went as it often does these days, we knew which guy was in charge of what and which version he decided to show up with was completely up to him. Park and Ride time was decided upon and the supply of whiskey was double checked, the weather was looking bomber. Northgate, Arlington, Darrington, Marblemount, and Newhalem all in a row, we snapped pics of guidebook photos and headed up the trail just about 8AM. We made our way down into Crescent Creek Basin past the Chopping Block a little after noon passing one tent at the divide. The clouds had lifted as we made our way across the Barrier and now we suffered the sunny choss as we contoured around Crescent Creek and climbed up below Terror, making our camp at the obscenely beautiful promontory at 6300'. We gutted our packs, piled rocks over the important stuff and took advantage of our lightened feet by scrambling up the West Ridge of Terror, tagging the summit right at 5PM. Back at camp we rolled cigarettes, set up the tent and sipped Laphroaig telling jokes and watching the sunset. The next morning we dropped a little elevation right out of camp and then contoured old terminal moraines towards the hidden couloir that leads to Otto-Himmel Col. Last time I had been through here it was early season and we had just strolled to the top, this time it was a whole different animal. We predominantly stayed in the moat on the left stemming between ice and rock until being forced through a portal in the snow to the right side. Below the huge chockstone we scrambled up the rock on the left side and then back across smallish ledges right until back in the gulley above the chock. A few more feet of vert brought us to the Col and a bit of a breeze so we added some layers and got our gear on. I started up the righthand of the two large cracks and climbed for a ways until it appeared as though the rock might be of better quality over in the left crack. Imran was shouting at me to stay in the right side but I figured I'd go check out the other one at about half pitch. I liked what I saw so I continued up, I suppose following the right side is what is shown in Red Fred but both variations were climbed in the process of seeking the first ascent by Silas, Roper and Kroeker so I figured I'd split the difference on the first pitch. Both lines will take you to the base of the next pitch in a little alcove/cave below the offwidth chimney. If memory serves me there was a small slung chockstone here with what must have been some tasty cordage that a varmint had chewed through as well as some other old webbing that was in slightly better shape. I threw in a cam as backup and made an anchor to bring Imran up. Once he arrived all smiles as usual I set about getting my nerve up for the next lead. It looked big, slightly overhanging, and I could not see anywhere that took gear less than eight inches; 5.7? I'll bite. Up I went, the holds were...amazing! All the stances, everything was like a dream. I almost forgot about placing gear, which wouldn't have mattered anyways because unless you have a Big Bro or a length of 2X4 it doesn't matter until you are at least 20' out. The first placement is a small cam in a horizontal crack to the right of the crack, the next, about 5' higher is a bomber #1 or #2. The angle eases off after this and the pitch rambles up a ways nearing the ridge. Instead of heading over the ridge to the left we opted to continue up towards the subpoint angling slightly right to a weakness and chocked chimney just below the subpoint. I belayed Imran up while sitting on the chockstone and we unroped for the next bit of 3rd and 4th class terrain up and over the subpoint and across the ridge towards the true summit. There is a nice flat col before the final pitch up to the summit and we threw our packs down here and put the rope back on for safety sake. I placed a 0.5 or 0.75 in a feature to protect a bit of exposure but that was it. We had reached the top of the "Horn of the Sky Spirit" and the horizon was smoke free, giving us views for days. The summit is pretty small, we looked around for a summit register but could not locate one despite Jason and Tim reporting on it during their FA of Stonehenge. We hung out up there for quite a while but eventually decided we were hungry and we needed to figure out how to get down. We knew we didn't want to rappel the lower three pitches of the Wild Hair due to a lack of anchors for our single 70M rope (FA was with twin 50M ropes) and we didn't want to end up too far down the N face and have to come back up the Mustard Glacier. We had spotted a pretty nice looking anchor backed up with a nut and some fresh looking webbing just below the subpoint on the north aspect so we figured we'd start there. I ran the rope through, tied knots and chucked each half into the unknown. Looking down the face everything looked pretty ledgey but also decked out with areas of obviously loose rock so I exercised considerable caution keeping the rope free of debris. At about 25M I came upon a double piton anchor joined together with some old webbing but decided to try and angle off back towards a large boulder out right (skier's left), suspecting a possible anchor in that vicinity. I came up on the knots right as I touched on a ledge above the boulder, I unweighted the rope removed it from my belay device and scrambled around the boulder to find a nice looking rap anchor. Imran came down and we set the next rap angling hard back over the ridge towards Otto-Himmel Col. We found another anchor over the ridge and were able to rap into a small depression almost at level with the col with a slight ledge leading back to the col, I believe this is the depression and ledge described in the N. Face route description. Stoked to have made it back down on our single 70 with relative ease we rapped down past the chockstone and continued to rap most of the gulley on old suspect singlepoint anchors composed around sketchy rock or attached to jiggly pitons in jiggly rock. Eventually we emerged back in Crescent Creek Basin and rambled back to camp encountering a rather large and healthy set of mountain goats along the way. Somewhat begrudgingly we packed up camp and made our way back across the hot red choss to the Chopping Block where we set up camp for the night and encountered a curious Stoat for a split second before it went back to hunting down Pikas and other alpine morsels. Sunset was amazing in all directions and the nice view of Teebone Ridge had Fallen Angel stuck in my head for the rest of the trip but thanks to 4G service at the ridge I was able to scratch the media itch. In the morning we climbed the NE ridge of the Chopping Block staying generally on route but adding in a few short harder sections at the bottom and top for fun. Rapping this route with a single 70 is a bit of a rope stretcher and requires attention to detail. Finally, we packed up for good and headed down the Barrier gorging ourselves on blueberries the whole way back to Terror Creek. Another trip in the Pickets with a head full of ideas for the next time. I had the good fortune to talk to all the members of the first ascent team at this years Bulger Party and I think they got a kick out of the kids taking such pleasure in their route, it is a real gem! Thanks to Silas, Russ, and Roper for putting up the line! Okay, Pictures! Coming up the Barrier with clearing skies Crescent Creek choss heat. Terror! With Luna in the background. Camp life. Sunset from camp. Highly recommended accommodations at ca. 6300' Himmelgeisterhorn Starting up the right crack, the chimney of P2 can be seen above the left crack near the top of the rock in the picture. Imran climbing towards the top of P1, minimal gear was placed on ascent but lots of opportunities existed. Last Pitch Sky Spirit! Taking the ledge back to Otto-Himmel Col Super Crack! Late season gulley shenanigans. Sunset from Chopping Block camp. NE Ridge of the Chopping Block Picket Stoke! Gear Notes: Single rack of cams #00-#2, medium nuts, long runners, 70M rope, crampons, ice axe, whisky Approach Notes: Terror Creek to the Barrier to Crescent Creek Basin

Trip: The Chief, Squamish. - Uncle Ben's (V 5.8 A2+) Date: 7/20/2008 Trip Report: Big walls marked the start and finish of a month and a half long climbing road trip with my friend Darin this summer. After starting in the Valley in June, we worked our way north and ended with a week in Squamish. We had looked forward to being back in an area where there was a “scene,” but were dismayed to find the chaos of the Mountain Festival in full swing. We spent an afternoon bouldering in the forest and got to have a session with Cedar Wright on Easy Chair. We decided to head for the high lonesome to avoid the crowds. We bived out at the Spit on Saturday night (the good, hidden pull off on the right side is now closed BTW), and began gearing up for Uncle Ben’s, something that I had had my sites on for quite a while. After running around town to pick up some requisite items, we bumped two loads of junk up to the top of Flake Ledge and fixed the first two pitches of Merci Me (heading left mid way up the second pitch, not towards the Grand), sans chalk and in street shoes. We bived on top the Flake that night (not that comfortable. Oh, and thanks to whoever shit right in the middle of the ledge like a wild animal). We met a couple of Quebec dudes who were rappelling down fixed lines from the third pitch. They said that they had attempted to do the wall in a day, but that was not going to happen. We shared a beer with them and swapped some funny stories. The fixed lines where not theirs, however. The owners of these lines returned the next morning and toped out that afternoon. From the top of Merci Me I aided a 10c pitch (I only had street shoes) that heads straight left. You get to sit on the tree for the belay. This is where we did our first haul from, bringing the bags up from Flake Ledge. The pig on Flake Ledge waiting to be dragged up the slab. Darin took the next pitch, a beautiful right ward slanting crack that ends with some airy moves out over a roof (we skipped the anchors under the roof). Above the roof there are three bolts, then some hooking/free climbing to the anchors. The rock blew on Darins first hook move and he whipped past the bolts and under the roof, in the full blast of two other parties awe. After the roof, I lead an invigorating pitch with lots of tiny hook moves in a row. This took us to our first bivy, just below the "classic bivy" that is written in the guide (didn't look to classic to me when we passed it the next day). We patched up some gear that got shredded on the slab haul and put on all our layers, as it was chilly. The next day we climbed to two pitches from the top. Chunky soup sponsorship? We watched a speeding motorcycle get pulled over the second night. We heckled the whole scene loudly. We woke to threatening weather both mornings, but our trusty radio, El Pepe put our fears to rest. It was pleasant climbing weather. A young Warren Harding? The final day we broke the first traversing pitch in half so that we could leave our gear at the rappel station in the middle. The last pitch was a grunt. Something larger that the #4's we had would have helped here. We enjoyed some lunch on the Dance Platform before our raps The raps took us 1.5 hours from top to bottom. We did 6 double rope raps in total. The third was a bit sketch and you might want to break it in two. I found my self 50m out on the rope with a huge load under me, my feet barely able to touch the wall, and my next rap anchors 30 feet to my right. It took a bit of timing with the wind and momentum to final stick them. Sketch. Gear Notes: Bring hooks. Double sky hooks and maybe double talons. There are a number of areas where you are 4-5 hook moves out. I found myself wishing I could use the hook I was currently sitting on for the next move. The black sickle has lots of fresh copper heads that should last for a number of years, but a couple of beaks, knife blades, and lost arrows should get you past any missing fixed gear. We only had to place one pin on the white sickle pitch where it looks like a knife blade used to be. Sorry, rock. Bigger gear than #4 for the last pitch; number 5 of 6. All the bolts are solid and most of the stations have chains. Approach Notes: Can all big walls have such a short approach? We hiked to the top of Flake Ledge and began with the firs two pitches of Merci Me.

Trip: Lemah Mountain - Date: 8/24/2007 Trip Report: I climbed Lemah Mountain in 11 hours, 26 minutes roundtrip (5:52 up, 29 minute rest on summit, 5:05 down. I made a few routefinding errors that cost me a little bit of time, but regardless, this mountain is long and physically taxing. The trip was about 32 miles roundtrip, 22 miles on trail and 10 miles of rugged cross country travel. Location (Elevation): Time Elapsed / Split / Real Time Pete Lake TH (2,800 ft) : 0 / 0 / 07:16 Pete Lake (2,980 ft) : 38.31.11 / 38.31.11 / 07:55 PCT Junction [Lemah Mdws Trail] (3,200 ft) : 1:00.05 / 21.34.52 / 08:17 Spectacle Lake (4,239 ft) : 2:00.46 / 1:00.40 / 09:17 Arrive Lemah Summit (7,540 ft) : 5:52.27 / 3:51.41 / 13:09 Depart Lemah Summit (7,540 ft) : 6:21.31 / 29.04.78 / 13:48 [spectacle Lake (4,239 ft) : 9:28 elapsed / 3:07 split from summit / 16:55 real time] Pete Lake (2,980 ft) : 10:37.40 / 4:16.08 / 17:54 Pete Lake TH (2,800 ft) : 11:26.29 / 48.48.34 / 18:42 Lemah Mountain, together with Chimney Rock and Summit Chief Mountain, comprise the "Snoqualmie Pickets." While these mountains are located relatively close to the metropolis and a popular section of the PCT, they are rugged and provide a real wilderness feeling. The climb of Lemah Mountain is even true to Picket fashion with routefinding issues, brush, and slow boulder fields. Aside from a cairn on the summit and a couple along the approach, I saw no evidence of human travel - no paths, camp spots, bootprints, or snow tracks. It’s becoming tough to find such solitude and untrampled terrain in the Cascades, even in the real Pickets... The 22 miles of trail to get to and from Spectacle Lake from the Pete Lake Trailhead are the easy part. I made a minor mistake and took the Lemah Meadows Trail to the PCT which added about 1 mile of running and also took the longer (standard) route to Spectacle Lake. By the time I made it to the lake I had covered 11+ miles. You can see the five fingers of Lemah Mountain in this photo (just right of center). The middle finger is the main summit. The shores of Spectacle Lake are rugged and rocky and one must first ascend to a shoulder in order get around the north side of the lake. From here, I traversed through talus and brush below cliff bands. It is difficult to see where to ascend to the ridge to cross over to the Lemah Creek drainage and I spent some time here as well figuring it out. Finally atop the ridge, the hard part is over, but Lemah Mountain still seems far away and there is much walking through heather meadows, talus fields, an old moraine, and granite slabs. Finally below the mountain! At the glacial remnant, I put on crampons, which were helpful on the snow slopes which became steeper near the top. A class 3 scramble and then another snow field brought me to the ridge leading to Lemah's main summit. A short scramble later and I was on the summit. I spent nearly 30 minutes resting and enjoying the great views, especially to Chimney Rock and Overcoat Peak. Chimney Rock, Overcoat Peak, and Glacier Peak in the distance. Nothing in between Lemah and Rainier. Middle Fork Snoqualmie, Mount Thompson, and peaks near Snoqualmie Pass. Spectacle Lake, a LONG ways away! Summit shot. Lemah #2 (left) and the Main Summit (right) Glacial tarn. Chimney Rock massif. Four of the Lemah Fingers. Close-up of Lemah #2 and the Main Summit. While I didn't make any errors on the return trip, it still took 5:05 hours from the summit to the car! Gear Notes: Axe, crampons. The La Sportiva Exum Ridge trail shoes handled the terrain great! Approach Notes: Around 32 miles roundtrip - 22 miles of trail and ~10 miles of rugged cross country travel. Trails are in good shape, no path after Spectacle Lake.

Go for MonGo! That thing may never see a 2nd ascent , unless somebody from North Carolina comes out here Off to the Can Rockies, later!